In preparation for Hurricane Ian, our office is closed and will reopen Monday October 3rd.
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Dentures last for an average of 7 to 10 years.
Dr. Parikh will examine your teeth to determine what denture is right for you and will take x-rays to rule out active oral health problems.
If you are getting full dentures, we will extract all of your remaining teeth. It takes about 8 to 12 weeks to heal from these extractions. You will receive immediate temporary dentures to wear in the meantime to assist with chewing.
After your teeth have been extracted for full dentures or as the first step in the partial denture process, we will take impressions of your mouth. These are sent to the dental lab that fabricates your dentures.
We will then take a jaw record which is the measurement of how your bite fits together and how much space is between them. This is also sent to the dental lab so they can fabricate a custom-made denture that perfectly fits inside of your mouth.
Once we have set your dentures in wax, we will hold a trial fitting for you to test how your dentures fit and feel. Adjustments are usually needed after the first try-in. You can let us know if anything needs to be altered. A few adjustment periods may be needed until they’re just right.
Once all adjustments have been made, we will hold one final denture fitting before sending you off with your new set of teeth along with aftercare instructions.
A partial denture is a type of denture that only replaces a few missing teeth in the mouth rather than all of the teeth. A pink plastic or acrylic base is fabricated to mimic the appearance of gums and attached to this is a series of artificial teeth that are connected through a metal wire framework.
This denture hooks onto the abutment teeth (natural teeth next to the gap) with metal clasps. A partial denture can replace teeth on both sides of the mouth and prevents the nearby teeth from moving.
A full denture will only ever be recommended to patients who are experiencing extensive tooth loss with very few natural or healthy teeth left. Full dentures replace one or both arches of teeth but require the extraction of their remaining teeth in that arch.
These dentures can be placed about 8 to 12 weeks after the tooth extractions, once the gums have fully healed. You will be able to wear temporary dentures while you heal and your official dentures are being fabricated.
We carefully take impressions and measure your jaw relationship to ensure that your dentures fit snugly and are not loose. Full dentures do not clip on through clasps and are not cemented in place. They are held in place through suction that forms from a natural seal around the gums.
Partial dentures are a removable version of dental bridges.
Dentures need to be handled with care and regularly cleaned. You will also need to remember to take them out and soak them overnight. This is for two reasons – your dentures need to stay moist to prevent them from drying out and you cannot wear your dentures for 24 hours because your mouth needs rest from the pressure.
While you can soak your dentures in water overnight, we recommend soaking them in a mild denture-cleaning solution so that they’re staying moist and get cleaned at the same time. You will need to brush your dentures twice a day with a soft bristle toothbrush like you would with natural teeth.
Use a denture cleaning solution and scrub all of the surfaces of the dentures with your toothbrush. You should also be cleaning the soft tissues in your mouth to prevent gum disease. Remember to rinse your dentures when you take them out and before putting them back in.
Never soak or expose your dentures to hot water, which can morph their mold and may require replacement. Attend regular dental checkups every 6 months to ensure you’re in good oral health and to check on the condition of your dentures. If you’re due for a checkup, contact us at BayBreeze Dental today to schedule an appointment with Dr. Parikh.
There will be an adjustment period when it comes to eating with your dentures. Directly after receiving a new set of dentures, you will likely feel discomfort or tenderness and won’t be able to eat hard foods.
It can take up to a month to get used to the feeling of dentures and we recommend that you stick to soft foods during this time. Soft foods involve minimal chewing and give your gums and bones a break from the constant pressure.
Start by eating foods like mashed potatoes, pudding, applesauce, and eggs. Over time, you can start to incorporate more solid foods. However, you should cut these foods into small pieces and carefully chew them. You may also want to avoid foods at extreme temperatures.
Try to be conscious of distributing the chewing forces equally on both sides of the mouth. After a few weeks to a month, you’ll be able to eat most foods. However, you should be careful with hard, sticky, and crunchy foods.
These foods may always be more difficult to eat with dentures and should either be kept to a minimum or eaten very carefully.
After your teeth are extracted, you will deal with some minor bleeding, swelling, and discomfort for a few days. You will need to bite down on gauze, keep your head elevated, ice the area, and take anti-inflammatory pain medication.
It takes 8 to 12 weeks for the gums to fully heal after the extractions and you will be given immediate temporary dentures during this time to help you speak, eat, and smile. Your gums will feel swollen and your bite may shift as the sockets heal, changing the way your dentures sit or feel. You may need to have the temporary dentures refitted during this process.
You’ll need to stick to mostly liquid and soft foods as your gums heal. Once you are fitted for your official dentures, you may still experience increased salivation, tenderness, sounding louder than normal, difficulty chewing, and difficulty pronouncing certain sounds.
It takes about 30 days to get used to your dentures and these problems will subside with time. You can suck on hard candy to encourage swallowing, take anti-inflammatory pain medication and rinse with a saline solution to relieve swelling and practice reading out loud to get used to speaking with dentures.